The invention relates to the production of laminates that can be attached to one another by means of edge regions made in the form of steps. A portion of the layers of which the laminate consists then protrudes with respect to the other layers, such that the protruding layers form the actual joining region. The advantage of such a join is that this is relatively smooth, which is advantageous especially from the standpoint of aerodynamics.
However, the production of such laminates with edges made in the form of steps presents problems. For instance, in the case of, for example, plastic bonding layers that contain fibres, the fibres can emerge on the outside under the influence of the elevated pressure under which the laminate is produced. This is not desirable because undesired phenomena can then arise in the finished product, such as the penetration of moisture into the fibre layer, corrosion and the like. The life of the laminate can be seriously limited as a result.
In the aviation industry such joins occur in both the longitudinal direction and in the circumferential direction of the aircraft body. It is desirable to keep the body as smooth as possible in the longitudinal direction and for this reason the joins between the panels consisting of laminate are frequently made with step-shaped edges. In the circumferential direction of the body such joins are also frequently used with strips of different thickness. Such joins can also be used when coupling together strips made up of metal laminates, which may or may not be fibre-reinforced and may or may not have different thicknesses, which are usually used in panel couplings in the circumferential direction of an aircraft body.